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Eddie cannot reliably play well live and
he certainly cannot play something note for
note.He has bad timing because he's nervous
when he's on stage and he can probably only
play really well sitting down.Do I have a
point?I don't know it's just my honest opinion.I don't think he's a god but he is
human.He has frailties and it takes a sensitive type to make the music he does and
then face the type of crowd and hype he does.
I don't know how ANY musician can relax enough in front of a crowd and play well.
However all in all he's been one of my favorites since I was in 7th grade(I'm 36 now)and I do play guitar.I was just wondering
if anybody agrees with me in part or all of
my assesment.I don't mean to start a war it's
just I've only been on this board a short
time and I'm wondering if there's anyone that
doesn't just totally gush and idolize all
the time,there is a lot more technically proficient guitarists out there and I just
want to know if anyone realizes it or not.
I DO LIKE VAN HALEN!But I'm sorry but I had
to say certain things.For all I care fuck
a new singer or tour,have em' throw studio
shit together and put it out.I saw Van Halen
in concert once,it was a FUCK tour,and granted I would have liked to have seen them
much sooner.Ed seemed with it although I have
to say that it made me wonder with his guitar
tone(tinny)and his ability on most of it,who
was THIS guy?Someone else surely made his albums,this guy can'y play Van Halen very well.Sammy was drunk on the floor well before
the concert was over.The one part that sounded good was his solo I must say,that almost made up for it.The intro to mean Streets and such.Forget Eruption though,I
hope he never tries to play it again!He's
ruined it for me everytime I've heard concert
tape.One of the reasons I say that is because
of one part that on the album happens right
before he does the final dive bomb where he's
finishing his hammer on thing and his left
hand has to quickly alternate at the 8th and
9th fret(my position anyway)and he has to
play it for a long time to get his speed up
because he can't play it anymore.It's kind
of sad.But like I said he has stuck some magical moments on disc that I still listen
to.I guess depending on what you people say
you may or may not ever hear from me again,
I just had to relay my thoughts,honestly.

I don't wanna made a fight with ya for sure , so firat of all let's get togheter a virtula beer my buddy YUNNNKKKK
Btw ... you can't pretend that a person plays perfectly every night or concert for 30 years ! ... I saw Satriani play bad too , but he's still a monster ! ...
Eddie gave a lot to the music in more ways ... thecnics , sounds , way to be of a guitarist ! ... He climb the mountains after Hendrix and he's still here giving us great music and feelings !
I listen to a lot of guitar player , maybe better of Eddie Van Halen ! ... But , Eddie , wrote a big part of the story of rock-guitar reinvented the model of being a musician ! ...
Ya know ... in 30 years , do ya pretend that a person play perfect every night ?! ...
Do ya think that Y.Malmsten till now is more creative of Eddie Van Halen ? ...
Eddie is the last real genius that we got in the guitar stuff ! He gots all my respect ! ...
Ok .. end for me ... let's go for another virtula beer my friend !

I attended a G3 concert (Vai, Johnson & Satriani) a couple of years ago. After Vai's set, I left. It was at that point I realized that I'm not a fan of guitar playing,( despite the fact that I play) I am a fan of bands that write great songs.

What Billy Joel is to the piano, Ed is to the guitar. Sure there are a lot of better players out there, but can they write nice melodies, I don't think so.

Sure Ed fucks up a lot live. I love pointing out his mistakes to by buddies and shit. They always say the same thing, "I didn't hear a mistake!" Exactly. Most people are not listening that closely. There in it for the whole tune, just not the guitar parts.

Gtrz, I realize you're new to the posts, and you've got your opinion, but I've gotta tell you that's one of the stupidest posts I've read, and I should know. I've probably posted more stupid posts than anybody.
I saw the fuck tour twice, and no way was sammy drunk and falling down. The way you heard Ed's guitar could have been where you were sitting, maybe not, I wasn't there.
How can you possibly expect someone, no matter who it is, to play the same thing note for note every night for 100 to 200 nights. And complaining because he didn't alternate between the 8th and 9th frets fast enough for you. Also Ed was a heavy drinker in those days, so that couldn't have anything to do with it could it. To say Ed's timing is off, and he can't play well unless he's sitting down is rediculous.
Boy, you must be an incredible guitar player yourself to be making judgements like that.
I'd like to hear some of the stuff you do.
You don't know ANY musician who can face a crowd and play well? Well I can, and so can many other posters here. I've heard their music myself. I don't drink or do drugs, so I don't use a crutch to make myself feel better, or play better, but if I'm playing the same shit over and over, night after night, of course it's gonna be slightly different from night to night. Who wants to play the same notes constantly every night, till it becomes a job to go onstage.
If you want it to sound perfect, buy the fucking album, and don't go to concerts. It also sounds like you never faced an audience yourself, and do most of your stuff in front of a mirror(sitting down).

Magical moments?? It sounds like you couldn't find a magical moment if it snuck up and bit you on the ass.
If you're that good, please post some of your music here on this post. You have the opportunity. If you're that much better than Ed, and note for note perfect, I'll apologize and eat my words, but after reading your post my impression is that you've never been in a working band, are not in a band now, and can't play well, or play at all unless you're zonked on something.
I come across guys like you all the time who are full of opinions, about everything they can't do themselves. It seems the biggest experts on guitar are the ones that can't play themselves. Prove me wrong.
There's only one Edward, and if he's not good enough for you, why listen.

What Tribb said. I can appreciate technical players to a certain extent, but after awhile it bores the shit out of me. What's the point of playing everything note-for-note all of the time? So you can prove that you can do it? Whoopee. When you start doing that, there's no inspiration left in your playing. I'd like to see Ed play an entirely different solo for some of the songs live just to kick us in the ass, so we can say the same thing we've said about Ed's playing from the start-"Wow, that was fucking cool!"

I gotta say that Tribb is a great talker , yes , cool words your ones ! ... And he's a really great guitar player ! ... Thumbs up for Tribb my canadian friend !
Btw ... if someone think that Eddie VH is not so good , got a look to the boot video of largo 1982 when he played the solo ! It was 1982 mans , 1982 , many years ago , and ... what he did and do ! ...
For me the hystory gave us two guitar jenius !
-Jimmy Hendrix
-Eddie Van Halen

eddie van halen has no timing? what in the hell? im at a loss for words actully..think of all the techniques he s revolutionized(tapping,whammy bar theatrics,pinch harmonics) ,his tone (tinny?),his guitar innovations(d tuna,variac,custom wound pick ups,body styles,no tone knob) eddie is the consumate complete guitarist!!!! as far as accuarcy and technique listen to those early boots from 76 to 78 its mind boggling the reach he has and weird ass scales he plays...occasionally he fucks up a little but thats why we like him ,he s human ,he doesnt practice scales for 8 hours a day in his fucking bedroom, he plays when he feels like playing his axe and jamming...and its true the heavy drinking really took its toll on his precision on those sammy tours...and has anybody ever heard a solo that sounds the same? no thats why its fun listening to his boots.

------------------
eddie vanhalen , there is no substitute.
Official member of G4

The reason I go to most concerts is so I can see the musicians being creative. I love jam bands and most of these bands play their songs in all different ways. which I think is great improv is a great thing. With VH it is the same thing Ed plays the song over and over so he changes parts of it so it sounds different. But different is not a bad thing. I respect Edwards technique and think is a great guitarist. I have many favorite guitarist and with each of them they have their great qualities. I play but I am not great or claim to be. I just like to play and make sweat sounding vibes.

------------------
IS IT VAN ROTH? OR VAN HAGAR? OR VAN CHERONE? NO MOTHERFUCKER IT IS VAN HALEN!!!!

It's true : every Van Halen bootlegs from a tour got differents sounds stuff ! That's why I really like VH boots ! They are all different show after show , and during the same tour ! They're great for me , really great ! ...

One thing I hate about Eddie, is that for one of the greatest guitar players ever, yhat he never goes up and just wails and come up with something on th etop of his head. I'm sick of him playing Eruption/Spanish Fly/Mean street/Cathedral/etc. I would love to see really show off his talent!!!

I think you need to define the concepts your trying to talk about. To say EVH cannot play well live is right and wrong. If you want to hear the solos off the album, Ed is going to let you down. If, however your interested in hearing a great musician explore his instrument, EVH is a treat to watch live.
I've seen Ed playing and he gets an idea and instead of playing in the pocket, he goes for it, which IMO is very cool and creative. I try to play in a way that is similar. If something hits me, I'll go for it, if I fuck it up, at least I tried, also after playing for the length of time some of us have, you can generally get yourself out of these situations quite eloquently.
For me when I see VH live, I use the solo spots minus Sammy’s, but including Eddies to go to the bathroom. I don't enjoy them; it has been the same shit over and over for years now. I go to a VH show to hear Ed improvise, that's it! I set myself as close as possible and just enjoy.
There are techniquely better players out there, but technique is a tool for expression. You can have all the technique in the world but if you can't improvise, IMO your not a good player.

Well I do have to agree about the same old stuff routine. That being said, he still is the man. PERIOD. That is a tuff job playing a solo for thousands of people everynight. It's all about timeing, he is given the same amount of time every night. He has worked out his solo, so he sticks with it. I would say to Eddie, just maybe change it up every now and then. I'm not bitchin' at all, just an observation. I love how the WHOLE place shuts the fuck up during his solo spot. Al's and mikey's too. Very cool. Out.

I enjoy Ed's playing live, especially on bootlegs because of his improvising. Great moments of Ed improvising that come to mind would be when he would mimic Dave's singing (during "So This Is Love" on the Diver Down tour or "Take Your Whiskey Home" on the 1980 tour) I think it says more about a player when they can embellish and add to a song rather than play it note for note. In fact, I think playing note for note is a lot easier than trying something different! When a guitarist plays as an expression of themselves, it's way more exciting than hearing exact renditions. If anything, I wish Ed did more stuff in the Blues realm, like "Bright Lights Big City" or the little Cream ditty played on the 1984 tour. I love blues, and when he plays it, Ed takes it somewhere else! Ed fucks up, sure, but that's why it's called LIVE, where you can't mess up like you do in the studio and go back a re-record until you get it right. And if you knew your Van Halen history, you'd know that Ed admitted that he was not happy with the "Eruption" that was on VH1 because it was not played like he intended and he said he fucked up on it. It made the album because the producer thought it was cool, and the band had lttle say since it was their first record.

i'm sorry gtrz, but i don't agree w/your post dude,i do respect your opinion and more pwer to ya. eddie is always improvising in his solos. thats what makes him an excellent player, he CAN improvise on the spot. so what if he always plays the same solos in his spot,they are never played the same twice. i would love to hear you play eruption, the exact same way in front of 20,000+ people for 200 dates! i believe one of these guys has a set up where you can record your music and post it in the Freedrive site. why don't you do it so we can hear you switch from the 8th to the 9th fret in a thousandth of a second. eddie kicks all ass when it comes to rockin' w/the axe!

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